Drawing upon decades of experience, RAND provides research services, systematic analysis, and innovative thinking to a global clientele that includes government agencies, foundations, and private-sector firms.

The Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS.edu) is the largest public policy Ph.D. program in the nation and the only program based at an independent public policy research organization—the RAND Corporation.

Overview

Roland Yardley is a senior international/defense researcher at the RAND Corporation. He joined RAND after a 24-year U.S. Navy career and leads studies for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the U.S. Department of the Navy. Yardley has authored numerous reports on aviation, aircraft carrier and surface ship operations, and military and civiian personnel policy. He has participated in RAND research projects for the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia. Yardley received his M.S. in Management from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Publications

Assesses the potential challenges and benefits associated with changing the employment scheduling of one class of ships -- the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class of destroyers -- to a 72-month operational cycle.

To support development and integration of earned value management (EVM) competencies across the defense acquisition workforce, RAND researchers surveyed the U.S. Department of Defense EVM-analyst workforce and described it across several dimensions.

This report develops a general concept for training military forces in employment of unmanned aircraft systems and a framework for addressing training requirements and discusses the limits of existing infrastructure in supporting UAS training.

Every uniformed service member must complete general military training requirements. This report examines training requirements and ways to standardize those requirements and reduce the training burden.

Air Force, Army, and Navy training programs for enlisted medical personnel are being consolidated to increase interoperability. A RAND methodology defines standards of practice across services and evaluates options for obtaining qualified personnel.

A methodology is outlined for defining a common standard of practice that can be applied to the surgical technologist specialty -- or any other medical specialty -- with the goal of consolidating training for enlisted military personnel across services.

The U.S. Navy is looking for ways to reduce the annual operating costs of the fleet. RAND examines whether and how an increased use of simulators could reduce costly underway training days for DDG-51-class ships while sustaining readiness.

This research brief summarizes RAND's analysis of the feasibility of different cycle lengths and their effect on the operational availability of Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The authors also examine cycle length impact on shipyard workloads.

Evaluating multiple one- and two-deployment scenarios, RAND examines the feasibility of different cycle lengths, their effect on Nimitz-class aircraft carrier forward presence, and their impact on shipyard workloads.

Describes modeling the extension of time between depot maintenance, varying the size of work packages, and using continuous-maintenance on the maintenance industrial base, and the effect of cycle length on operational availability.

Documentation of an analysis to determine whether the Department of Defense manpower, resources, and personnel systems are aligned to meet military readiness and operational requirements effectively and efficiently.

This research brief proposes a strategic framework for managing active-status reserve officers by recording individual expertise or experience in joint matters, comparing inventories with demand to compensate for shortages or overages.

Key findings: --As the missions of the U.S. military evolve, the need for education and experience in joint matters within the officer corps is changing. --Levels of joint experience and education have risen, but different ways of managing officers t...

This report describes the laws and policies that affect active component officer personnel management. It distinguishes between DoD and Navy policies. It focuses on the Navy, but could apply to other services.

The services must assign people to such outside organizations as the Joint Staff, the Department of State, and the White House; this report examines how this affects the Navy and suggests ways the service can manage these demands.

Related RAND Resources

The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest.